By Eric Kwasi Bottah, alias Oyokoba. ebottah@hotmail.com
“When independence was achieved the CPP has not been formed. The inauguration of independence took place when CPP was in power, but the priest who baptizes a child is not by any chance the child’s parents.” (Dr. JB Danquah, January 1960).
Going forward I would want readers to focus on the above quotation, against the background that following the riots of February 28, 1948, when Sergeant Adjetey and other gallant ex-servicemen were cowardly massacred by the colonial government, the Watson Commission which was set up to investigate the underlying embers, agitations, and attendant riots that led to that fateful day, recommended that the people of Ghana were fit to achieve independence within ten years. Within 10 years, which coincided with March 6, 1957, on the anniversary of the signing of the Bond of 1884 which formally incorporated the then Gold Coast as Crown colony. The implied notions to bear in mind here is that when Kwame Nkrumah arrived on the scene from abroad, there was a road map in place, the subsequent legislative consultative assembly elections that were to follow, starting in 1951 were nothing short of the last laps around the bend to herald and usher us into statehood. Here again, readers should bear in mind that our impending drive to independence and statehood was never in doubt by any shred of opinion when Nkrumah burst on the scene. By 1951 all that remained to be done was the type of government we were to emerge under at independence, as a federation or unitary form of government. That was what all the then political squabbles were about, and to his credit Nkrumah’s articulation for a unitary form of government won the day.
Given the above background I find it a huge stretch to award Nkrumah, alone, the lion share of the credit, as to our drive towards independence, as to single him out for Founder’s Day. Ghana’s independence drive was in high gear and carried to full term by many midwives and fathers, of which Dr Kwame Nkrumah was a principal player. But then so also was Dr JB Danquah, Paa Grant, Ako Adjei, William Ofori Attah and the others.
Ghana has no single father and founder, as President Mills would want us to believe. The country Ghana is no NDC which has one Father and Founder. Too often when it comes to making candid assessment of all issues Nkrumah and Danquah, some people are wont to be fanatical. Somebody once observed to me that Ghanaman would have invented or created God if none existed before. Fanaticism cannot and should not be a substitute for scholarship and vigorous unbiased research and observations. In his State of the Nation address, President John Evans Atta Mills dropped jaws and raised questionable eyebrows when he told the nation that he intends to initiate a bill that would canonize and embellish the Nkrumah mantra on the collective conscience of the people for all time with a Founder’s Day holiday. For a party that in its previous stints dismantled and sold off all the crown jewels associated with Nkrumah, the GIHOC group of companies and the Black Star Lines, many were caught off guard, not to mention the P/NDC was the party that drove the Nkrumah family from their home back in the day.
Flowing from the president’s address, many an Nkrumacrat, and some overzealous party aficionados who cannot rinse their brainwashed minds of Nkrumahism and fanaticisms; like clockwork, have placed their shoulders to the cartwheel that in their 'ideologized' minds would eventually lead to perhaps renaming Ghana, Nkrumania. What is this heretic nonsensical obsession with all things Nkrumah? The man has a university named after him, a whole mausoleum is built and dedicated to him in the priciest capital squares; March 6, as pointed by Dr. Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, every year never passes without his name being blasted on the airwaves. His name rose to the rafters above all else during the Ghana@50 celebrations, what else do we want; to make him the God of Ghana? What an absurdity! Nkrumah is made larger than life by the most fanatical of the political breeds, like Kwabena Mbrah, who for lack of having something worthy of personal celebration and achievement would want to live their lives through the Nkrumah brand and shadows, when in fact the guy's then fast uncontrollable tail spinning Mugabe-like achievement was saved and frozen in place by the 24th February 1966 coup.
I would be blunt. Kwame Nkrumah's legacy was saved by the bell, and frozen in time by the 1966 coup. But for the coup, the whole sand castle of a legacy would have fallen down flat on its face when Ghana became bankrupt by 1965. Don't get me wrong, he achieved a lot for Ghana, but the balance sheet on his record should be put in the right perspectives, not this near God pontifications and hero worshiping. Too often the Nkrumacrats propaganda is predicated on a premise like this: Since nobody but Kufour achieved some semblance of durable comparable achievements, we should make Nkrumah a near-god. It is like they are saying, nobody since Nkrumah has achieved that much, hence let's make him a tin god, forgetting that the reason for that is coupists like JJ Rawlings. Nkrumah led Ghana into bankruptcy, hello! If you want proof of that toggle to the Nkrumah videos in www.ghanatubes.com. Here is the link:
http://www.ghanatubes.com/view/293/nkrumah-independence-corporations-cia-part3/
For a country where most civil servants in a normal day put in a half day's effort or throughput into an 8 hour schedule, it is plain dumb stupid and nonsensical to create another public holiday, solely dedicated to one man. Have we quantified the costs yet? Is that a trick or a mask to hide their own under-achievements? Listen guys, Kwame Nkrumah did not invent or create Ghana, did not give Ghana its name or created its flag, enough of the circus, and let's get to work.
50years after independence we cannot even manufacture bicycles, let alone waste another day, on top of the many funerals, public holidays, etc. We should reduce rather than add to the many public holidays already on the books. Which one of the public holidays would we pull down to make room for this proposed holiday? How about all founders day? I am talking of the Mensah Sarbahs, Casely Hayford, Sergeant Adjetey, Nii Kwabena Boni, JB Danquah, Seth Antoh, Kwegyir Aggrey, Philip Quarcoe, Kofi Busia, Paa Willie, Edward Akuffo Addo, Gbedemah, Fergusson, Obetsibi Lamptey, Paa Grant, Ako Adjei, etc and countless others? Enough of the circus. Some shed their blood to forward our independence march, how about them? Give me a break!
We can honour the memory of Nkrumah by advancing his celebrated causes, a huge push for rapid industrialization, modernization of agriculture, educational reforms and infrastructural investments not this Fancy Dress charade and messianic masquerade Day. Kwame Nkrumah, JB Danquah, Paa Grant, Ako Adjei, Obestebi Lamptey, and a whole lot of unsung heroes, artisans, trade unionists, market women, merchants and farmers did their part, what are we doing? They would be embarrassed to know we are drifting in poverty and surrounded by mounting filths and yet have the effrontery to engage in brass band celebrations. Honour them with work not streets party!!!! March 6, every year should be dedicated to all founders, fathers, and mothers, and all those who continue to add to the growth and prosperity of Ghana everyday!
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